Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-08-13
THE CHArsWoRTH HORROR.

IHE CHAISWORIH HORROR.
of Passengers who We're on
the Demolished Toledo, Peoria and
Western Excursion Tram.
Ohatsworth, Ill, August 1l-Charnel
house and hospitals make up tonight
what has been the peaceful village OF
OF 800 merry excursionjsts
iourneying by here to the falls of Mia
CARA t%wenty-four hours ago. fully half
that number have since passed through
q m~alestrom more fearful than all the
whirliDg waters they were travelling far
to gee. E~ighty-four of the b~lackened,
mangled corpses are scattered at the
depot, schools and the engine houses,
here and at Piper City and are being
carried on t.ains in all direction to their
homes, while lis bandaged moaning
are stretched on all available
mattresses, beds and floors in this yIcini.
", struggling for q little lease Of life.
The streets of Dhataworth are filled with
crowds Of anxious seekers for friends
and relatives and with other crowds sof
busting people hurrying for medicines,
bearing rude, pine collins to the
trains or talking earnestly OF the horror
that has caused the CONSERVATION.
ACCOUNTS BY SURVIVORS.
Ohatsworth. Ill, Aug. 11-Dr. Hazen,
of Fort Madison, Iowa, says the tram
was running about thirty miles per hour
whom the accident occurred. He felt O
sudden jar and found himself and wife
fastened under the seats. He pulled the
ho nho ,fF 80 rvn nF tha cankn Lneos, ~
could get his wife out. She was bruised
on the BODY and both OF her feet were
crushed. His shoulder was d%islocated,
and he had it pulled into place az soon
as he could get ont of the wreck. In
helping others he put it out of place
again and had to have liz pulled into
place o second time. There were nine
persons in his party, and he can only
hear of three OF them 80 far. He says
he saw N. D. Stoddard hand his boy out
to o lady while he craWled back to get
his wife who was killed.
II Was simply horrible; said Mr.. e. A.
Van Zandt OF Peoria. No words OF mine
can describe the awfulness OF the scene.
I was in the rear sleeper and SO was in
no danger, ss no one in the six sleepers
was more than shaken up. Bat even
then we got q bad shock. I felt three
distinct bumps and then rushed out oil
the car and ran forward to the wreck,
There the scene vas horrible. The only
light was the flames of the burning
bridge, and above it the day coaches
were piled on top of n another in O
heterogeneous mass.
The engine was buried in the debris.
The headless body Of Engineer Nc
Olintock was underneath. From all
| sides came groanH and cries for aid, 80
we vent to work, and we had to work,
hard too. II the wreck ever caught lire
three hundred people would have been
burned to death and the only thing
thing we could do was to smother the
fire with dirt. 1t was hard and siow
work and took us four hours to do it
But we did 1t, and when the fire was
out other help came and We got The
dead and wounded out, and during the
morning carried them over to 5Ohatg
worth, where we took what care OF them
we could.
Peoria, Ang. ll-Severai Thousand
people we're at the depot this Afternoon
when the train arrived bearing the frs,
OF the wounded from Chatsworth. Th,
crowd was SO large and SO eager ii
obtain q view that it was difficult Il
control 1t. Accounts of the disaste
were obtained from several passenger
on the train, j. n. Tennery, who wa
in the first sleeper, said:
/ felt three distinct shocks and ther
heard q grinding sound, and on looking
out saw that the car in which we wer
WAS directly over the fire, which VIC
slowly blazing on the stringers OF th
bridge. / got ont safely and Cha seen
presented TO the eye and ear was one
wish / could forever efface from m,
memory, but I know I never can. Th
shrieks OF the dying and the glarinl
faces OF the dead will Away stay witt
me. To add to the horror it was pitcl
dark, save the fitfnl light OF the fire nm
der the sleeper which lighted the face
OF those about only to make their fea
and anguish visible. On the mouth
OF most OF the corpsss could b
seen froth, which showed that the
died in agony. at last we secured aom
feeble lights, bHt the wind blew then
ont, and about 4 O'Clock the rain poure,
down in torrents on uhe unprotecte,
dsad and dying in the hedges and cor,
fields adjacent. Our efforts we're divide
between trying to put ont the fire an
rescuing the dying, whose cries for bel
was h~eartrending indeed. Mothers ra
wildly about, crying for lost children an
wives for husbands. Strong MEN wer
weeping over the forms Of their believe
wives. Prayers, ~entreRties and groan
filed the air till daylight when relic
parties got TO work and removed tn
dead and wounded from the scene. Th
scenes in the care were beyond descriT
tion. One young child was found fas,
ened near the roof of the car; hemme
down, where in the ar and eonsussion
had been thrown, and was dead whe
taken down. Others were foand In q
comfortable shapes, oil thrown out {
their seats, piled in the end or aisle {
. the cars, bleeding from gashes in th
face, arms, or other portions OF the bod,
Galesburg, Id, Aug. LA number {
Galesburg people who were on the 9,
cursion train returned tonight. w. Gu,
ker rand wife we're in the rear end OF
: chair car:
The shock came about 11:50. I w
reused; said Mr.. Gucker, by the smash
ing of glass md the breaking OF Q,
timbers, and by shrieks OF pain and erie
j. for help. Our car had been telescope
and was standing nearly on end, our ea
being twenty-five feet in the air. I brol
a car window and managed to slide dow